Just one day before the general elections in Chile, the left-wing presidential candidate Jeannette Jara, representing the Communist Party (PC) and former Minister of Labor in Gabriel Boric's government, has sparked controversy again by justifying the situation of poverty and lack of freedoms in Cuba by appealing to “hurricanes” and the “U.S. blockade.”
During her participation in the program “Candidate, your time has come,” on the channel TVN, Jara was directly questioned by journalist Matías del Río about whether she considered Cuba to be a dictatorship. Her answer—full of hesitations and evasions—sparked a political and media debate just hours before the elections.
“Mire, Matías, what happens is that in Cuba there are many problems, they have a fierce blockade, people are having a hard time, there is a significant food crisis... and in addition, there have been many hurricanes that have impacted a large part of the electrical system. Since they are blocked, they don't have companies to restore the supply,” Jara pointed out.
Avoiding a direct answer about whether there is a dictatorship in Cuba, the leftist candidate expressed her desire for "Cuba to resolve its democratic issues" and described it as "evident" that on the island there is "neither a multiparty system nor many media outlets like here."
A political storm before voting
Jara's statements come just weeks after he first acknowledged, in another television interview, that “clearly Cuba is not a democracy”, a shift that had already caused surprise even within his own party.
The socialist senator Juan Luis Castro then described his change of tone as a “de-communization”, stating that “in Chile, we all understand that there is no democracy in Cuba.”
The new intervention, however, seems to revert to the traditional narrative of the Chilean Communist Party, which has historically maintained ties with Havana and has avoided labeling the regime of the Castros and Miguel Díaz-Canel as a dictatorship.
Differences with Boric and the progressive left
Although Jara was a minister under Boric, they do not belong to the same party. Boric leads the 'Frente Amplio', which is progressive and social-democratic in orientation, while Jara comes from the communist wing of the 'Apruebo Dignidad' coalition.
His stances on Latin American dictatorships reveal a profound contrast: Boric has openly classified the regimes of Cuba, Venezuela, and Nicaragua as violators of human rights, stating that "one cannot be on the left and remain silent in the face of repression."
Jara, on the other hand, has refrained from labeling those governments as "dictatorships," hiding behind the principles of self-determination and external factors such as sanctions and the climate. This contrast has reignited the debate about the moral consistency of the Chilean left and its relationship with authoritarian regimes on the continent.
Elections with an Ideological Shadow
Chile will go to the polls this Sunday, November 16, to elect a president, deputies, and part of the Senate.
Jara competes in a highly polarized environment, with the right-wing José Antonio Kast slightly leading the polls and analysts anticipating a possible runoff in December.
The rhetorical shift of the communist candidate —now softened by her statements about "hurricanes"— is seen as an attempt to avoid alienating moderate voters, even at the expense of her credibility.
While some radical left sectors accuse her of "yielding to bourgeois discourse," others criticize her ambiguity and lack of self-criticism regarding regimes that persecute and imprison opponents.
Cuba as a Mirror of Contradictions
The Jara case illustrates how the Cuban issue remains an open wound in the Latin American left.
While some sectors still justify the regime with arguments about the "blockade," others acknowledge that there is no press freedom, multiparty system, or genuine elections on the island.
Less than 24 hours before the vote, the words of the communist candidate have placed Cuba —and its model of political control— in the spotlight of a campaign where the defense of democracy has become the dividing line of the Chilean left.
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